We are all guilty of hiding behind our company name. I believed for a long time that anonymity and presenting my company as a ‘we’ was a sign of professionalism. Just like the big faceless companies, hiding behind your business is the easy thing to do, but I would encourage you to step out from the shadows and see what amazing things can happen when you become the face of your business.

I have battled over the years on how much of myself to show within my business. Confession: I am not a natural in front of the camera . For a long time stepping out in front of the camera, and indeed then posting these images onto a social platform felt daunting and vain. Although I felt comfortable leading a business, I felt wholeheartedly uncomfortable showing this face to the world.

I thought, like many, that keeping yourself hidden behind my business name made me look like a professional player. Suddenly the age of social media dawned and I was behind the times! Suddenly all these people were slipping out their phones for impromptu selfies and gaining followers and customers because of it. I was still in corporate sales mode and slipping behind the times.

I also started to struggle with engagement on social media, and although I knew my work was good, I wasn’t getting the financial reward for posting regularly. I started to look around my virtual world to push myself out of my comfort zone. Who did I love, what brands did I connect with … what were they doing that I wasn’t!

It soon became clear … the people who I admired and who I brought products off, all put themselves at the centre of their business by getting on camera and showing their face. I could instantly put a face to a name by looking at the 9 squares on their Instagram grid, or seeing them in the first 5 posts on their Facebook page. I knew their name, what they loved, what was their favourite food. They felt like long lost friends and that made me connect with the products they were selling. They told me stories about how they believed in their products, and because I felt I knew them, I trusted them.

By putting themselves at the centre of their business they had instigated the know, like and trust factor that consumers go through before buying a product

I set myself a challenge to post at least 1 image of myself for every 8 other posts I put on my grid or page. My aim was that every time someone would look at my social media they could see an image of who was behind the brand, without having to search for one. Instantly these images got a whole lot of love (5 out of my most liked posts feature myself or a person) I continued, even though taking the images felt unnatural … the engagement on my social media continued to rise.

I changed my name from my company to myself … people started to address me by my name in my comments. Then the breakthrough happened. I got comfortable sharing certain information with my followers. What I loved, what I had for breakfast, why I felt flowers were important. I gave my products a story and the magic started to happen.

My followers knew me and so they started to trust what I was selling and the stories I was telling them. As soon as I started to step out from the shadows of my brand, my orders started to increase.

People buy from people

To help you make the transition to showing your face in your business to build the know, like and trust factor, we have put together a downloadable social prompt sheet. You can download it here

Florally yours,

Emma and Rachel xx